


cottontail

by rosegardeninwinter



Series: sketched lightly: assorted Hunger Games short stories [4]
Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-07
Updated: 2018-12-07
Packaged: 2019-09-13 12:21:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16892517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosegardeninwinter/pseuds/rosegardeninwinter
Summary: [at the end of the day, Katniss is a sentimental soul]





	cottontail

In a twist she'll probably never live down, she’s the one that finds the new cat, after Buttercup's long, grumpy days end, and he is buried tenderly in a grave beside the garden. Her baker boy says they’ll keep their eyes out for any strays that need a home, though she’s privately sure she won’t do anything of the sort. 

She and the cat happen upon each other by accident. It’s raining. Not very hard, but enough that Peeta can’t stop thinking about being chained to a table, while his torturers poured water on his face until he was choking and crying for mercy they wouldn’t give. And it’s him that can’t get out of bed that morning. So she has to be the strong one. 

It's something of a task, nursing a newborn and making sure her husband doesn’t get lost in his own head at the same time, but she manages it. She sings to both until Willow is asleep and Peeta’s breathing is easier. She sets the baby in her cradle, murmurs that she’s just going to make some soup. Peeta nods shakily to say okay. 

It’s while she’s dicing some carrots that she sees the muddy shape under the roots of a tree across the dirt road. And some tug of memory of Prim bringing home a half drowned Buttercup has her lacing up her shoes and hurrying out to the shivering thing. She coos and clicks her tongue until the kitten takes a few cautious steps toward her and she catches it up and wraps it in her jacket, like once many years ago she wrapped up loaves of wet, burned bread. It’s mewing softly by the time she’s drying it with a towel by the sink. She tries not to be very sentimental: the more things she loves the more she has to lose. But those wide green eyes are so trusting that she can’t help herself. Prim would laugh. And that does it. She’s keeping the kitten.

She scoops it up and carries it to the bedroom, where she sets it gently next to Peeta’s pillow. He blinks confusedly at it. Then some of the vacancy clears from his face as the kitten rubs against his cheek and bats its feathery white tail happily. 

“Hey there,” Peeta says, quiet and hoarse, and Katniss covers her mouth with her hand to contain her smile


End file.
